USA TODAY International Edition
Harden stands atop MVP race
USA TODAY Sports’ top five candidates for the NBA MVP award ( through Week 14, Jan. 29Sunday; stats, standings and records reflected through Sunday’s games). Also receiving votes: Boston Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas, Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert, Washington Wizards’ John Wall.
5. LEBRON JAMES, CLEVELAND CAVALIERS James averaged 26.8 points ( on 57.7% shooting), 9.8 assists, nine rebounds, 1.3 steals and a teamhigh 37 minutes in four games ( three wins) in Week 14. The highlight of his week off the court came Wednesday, when he was given the NAACP Jackie Robinson Sports Award before a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The highlight of his week on the court came on the same night, when he recorded 27 points ( on 11- for- 14 shooting), 12 assists, eight rebounds and two steals en route to a 125- 97 victory. In Saturday’s win against the New York Knicks, James became the youngest player to surpass 28,000 points in a career.
4. KAWHI LEONARD, SAN ANTONIO SPURS Leonard scored 36 points ( on 13for- 26 shooting) to go along with eight rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots in a 108- 94 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a battle of two of the league’s top MVP candidates. It was Leonard’s 77th consecutive game scoring in double figures, the franchise’s longest streak since Tim Duncan had 91 in 2002- 03. For the season, the sixth- year forward is averaging a career- high 25.3 points and 3.3 assists to go along with 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals.
3. KEVIN DURANT, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS Durant, who spent his first nine NBA seasons with the Thunder franchise, will return home Saturday for the first time since his offseason departure. The game — at 8: 30 p. m. ET on ABC — will be Durant’s third time playing his former team this season. In the first two meetings? He scored 39 and 40 points, respectively, and led the Warriors to two wins — 122- 96 and 121- 100. As for his performances last week, Durant put up 33 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a win against the Portland Trail Blazers with Curry sidelined but struggled from the field in a loss to the Sacramento Kings, scoring 10 points on 2- for- 10 shooting ( 0- for- 6 from beyond the arc).
2. RUSSELL WESTBROOK, OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER In five games ( two wins, three losses), Westbrook recorded two triple- doubles ( his 24th and 25th of the season) and averaged 31 points ( on 40% shooting), 10.4 assists, 8.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals. He recorded his eighth 40- point game of the season in Sunday’s win against the Trail Blazers. He finished by hitting his first threepointer of the night with a little over a minute remaining and knocking down five free throws in the final minute.
1. JAMES HARDEN, HOUSTON ROCKETS After games with 15 and 10 points, Harden had 41 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in Thursday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks, followed by a 42- point, 12- rebound, nine- assist outing the next night in an overtime win against the Chicago Bulls. For the season, Harden has eight 40- plus point games, which is tied with Westbrook for the most in the NBA. He’s also averaging 28.9 points ( third in NBA), 11.4 assists ( first) and 8.2 rebounds ( third among guards) and has a 34% usage rate ( fifth in NBA).